It's Still Life

I.
Petals on the Wind (a Jueju-style poem)

A single petal drifts across the stone,
spring’s voice fading in the hush of moss.
No hand has touched it, yet still it falls —
just like a heart lets go, and is alone.

II.
Petals Fall Without Asking
(a Ci-style lyrical poem)

The scent still clings to the sleeve,
though the hand that touched the blossoms is gone.
Petals fall without asking —
not for the wind,
not for the sky.

Only the earth welcomes them,
soft as remembering.
I lean at the railing,
watching the pond hold their drifting.

One petal,
then another —
no sound but my breath
and the hush between thoughts.

If I could gather them back —
every word left unsaid,
every glance turned aside —
I would still let them fall,
slowly,
the way we let go
when love was enough.